This invention relates to an anti-pinch bolt, particularly one for use with paintball markers.
The game of paintball is a growing form of sport and entertainment, and comprises a paintball marker, or a paintball gun, which fires substantially spherical paintballs having an outer skin and a volume of paint contained within. The paintball is fired from the paintball marker by the user, and, upon striking its target, the paintball's outer skin ruptures or bursts, releasing the paint.
Over the years, paintball markers have become increasingly more sophisticated, and comprise automatic mechanisms for firing the paintball from the breech, and immediately thereafter cocking the paintball marker so that a new paintball, from an attached magazine, drops into the breech for subsequent firing. These actions are achieved, in some paintball markers, by a dual action trigger mechanism, coupled with pneumatic airflow within the paintball marker appropriately controlled by valves depending upon the cycle.
In certain paintball markers, the initial pulling of the trigger results in the release of a hammer, which has the effect of opening pneumatic pathways so that air under great pressure enters the breech and expels the paintball from the paintball marker. Further action on the trigger activates the pneumatic system and the three-way valve so as to activate a back block and bolt in combination to move in a manner which permits entry of the next paintball from the magazine into the breech. Therefore, upon completion of this cycle, when the trigger is pulled again, the paintball marker is ready to fire the next paintball without any manual cocking or loading being necessary.
The loading of the paintball by permitting it to drop from a magazine into the breech is typically accomplished in many paintball markers by the rearward movement of a bolt, which is moved by a back block attached thereto. The back block itself is activated by the pneumatics of the paintball marker. Thus, the bolt moves backward so as to open feed port from the magazine into the breech and allow the paintball to drop in. Thereafter, the bolt moves forward to close off the opening, which is necessary, otherwise the forced air in the pneumatic system, upon firing of the weapon, will not provide the necessary thrust for the paintball. One problem which often occurs in conventional paintball markers in the loading of the paintball is that the bolt may move forward before the paintball has had an opportunity to drop completely into the breech. If this should occur, the bolt will rupture the paintball within the breech, causing the liquid within the paintball to fill the inside of the marker. This causes significant problems and delays, including the fact that the wet barrel makes the marker extremely inaccurate. All of the paint liquid and residue must be removed, a time-consuming operation, in order for the marker to continue to function normally.
It is therefor an aspect of the present invention to provide a bolt preferably for use in a paintball marker, which is configured so that it will not rupture a paintball which has been only partially loaded in the breech.